My story begins with my college and career choices. I finished high school not having a clue as to what path I wanted to pursue, so I followed my twin sister and entered the same university for pre-med. As I struggled that first semester totally unsure of myself and anxious to figure out my future, it was my father who sat me down with an article from the Daily News newspaper.
“There’s something they’re calling Computer Science”, he said in his calm and steady Greek accent, “and it sounds very promising as an up and coming career choice”. My dad was very pro education and wanted nothing more than to see his daughters be able to independently stand on their own two feet. That was all I needed – the rest is history.
Over two decades later I’ve been in the Information Technology (IT) field and have seen monumental changes from enhancing our application programs in order to support the Year 2000 (Y2K) date crisis to bracing ourselves for the increasing rise of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. The field is dynamic and exciting and offers vast opportunities with the largest number of growing career choices.
As an IT professional I want to pay it forward and encourage young minds to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. I’ve seen students’ eyes open wide when they’ve worked as a team to build a computer and subsequently code. It’s a wonderful feeling playing a role in the nurturing of a child or adolescent and I find it very rewarding.
As a female in IT I’ve noticed the playing field is still unbalanced with more males dominating the space and so I want to encourage young girls to not shy away from this choice. Being a mother of triplet daughters, I want to continuously be a positive role model by instilling confidence and strength assuring them that they can truly achieve their dreams and aspirations.
I am humbly proud of my story and will always be grateful to my parents for giving me the chance to accomplish so much. I am also grateful to my professional mentors, both past and current, who continue to guide me. But the story doesn’t end here – rather the next chapter begins.
My passion for encouraging our children to explore these rewarding fields, is what has propelled me into offering the STEM For Kids curriculum. By collaborating with the community, our schools, libraries and establishments to broaden the next generation’s horizons, my sincerest hope is to show students how fun and exciting these fields can be, with programs like Movie & Game Making, Web Design, Computer Programming, Robotics and Biomedical Engineering. The future is bright for advanced technology and I’m hoping to play a small part in spring-boarding the next generation of pioneers.
Look for Tech Girls Inc., to bring you the STEM For Kids curriculum in the Northern Queens, NY area currently serving Whitestone, Bayside, Little Neck and surrounding areas.
Christina Toufexis
President, STEM for Kids – NY, Northern Queens Territory
CEO, Tech Girls, Inc.